Topic: CONCEPT OF ADULTERY IN ISLAM AND ITS PUNISHMENT Posted: 26 May 2008 at 7:04am

"Do
not go near to adultery. Surely it is a shameful deed and evil, opening roads
(to other evils)" (Quran 17:32).

"Say,
'Verily, my Lord has prohibited the shameful deeds, be it open or secret, sins
and trespasses against the truth and reason"' ( Quran 7:33).

"Women
impure are for men impure, and men impure are for women impure and women of
purity are for men of purity, and men of purity are for women of purity."
(Quran 24:26)

"Say to the believing men that they
should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that will make for greater
purity, and God is well acquainted with all they do. And say to the believing
woman that they should lower their gaze, and guard their modesty." (Quran
24:30-3 1)

Prophet
Muhammad (PBUH) has said in many places that adultery is one of the three major
sins. However, the most interesting story is that of a young man who went to
the Prophet. This man asked for permission to fornicate because he could not
control himself. The Prophet dealt with him with reasoning and asked him if he
would approve of someone else having illegal sex with his mother, sister,
daughter, or wife. Each time the man said 'no'. Then the Prophet replied that
the woman with whom you plan to have sex is also somebody's mother, sister,
daughter, or wife. The man understood and repented. The Prophet(pbuh) prayed for his
forgiveness.

Hadith reported by Ibn Mas’ood, (RA),
stating that a man came to the Prophet(pbuh) and said: “O Messenger of Allah, I
sported with a woman in the outskirts of Madina . . . [and] committed an
offence, short of fornication (kissing, necking, petting..etc). . . . Kindly
deliver verdict on me.” `Umar(RA) said to him: “Allah concealed your fault. You
had better conceal it yourself also.” The Prophet(pbuh) gave no reply to him,
so the man stood up and went away. Thereupon the Prophet(pbuh) sent a person
after him to call on him and recite to him: “And keep up prayer in the two
parts of the day and in the first hours of the night; surely good deeds take
away evil deeds this is a reminder to the mindful.” (Hud 11:115) Following
this, the Prophet(pbuh) dismissed the man, telling him: “Allah has exempted
you from the imposition of Hadd, or from your sin.” Someone who was
present at the time asked the Prophet(pbuh) whether such clemency related only
to that individual. “No, but for the people at large,” the Prophet(pbuh)
said reassuring all believers. (Reported by Muslim, At-Tirmidhi and Abu
Dawood.)”

This does not mean that other behaviors such as kissing, hugging,
caressing, heavy petting, etc. are not prohibited, but the requirements needed
to justify a harsh punishment of adultery are strict. They are not
considered major adultery (hadd punishment),
but they fit into the category of minor adultery which is also
prohibited. Obviously, couples can engage in all these activities without being
exposed to witnesses and thus avoid punishment in this life. But they still
must answer to Allah, the Almighty, who, in no uncertain terms, admonishes
against any sexual contact outside of marriage.

Adultery
is a crime not against one person but against the whole of society. It is a
violation of a marital contract. 50% of all first time marriages in the USA
result in divorce within two years and the main reason for divorce are the
adultery of one of the partners. Adultery, which includes both pre-marital and
extra marital sex, is an epidemic in this society. Nobody seems to listen to
the Bible ( in Christian place), which says frequently, "Thou shall not
commit adultery." The Quranic approach is, "Do not approach
adultery."

PUNISHMENT
OF ADULTERY

It is essential to stone the married adulterer
until he dies, following the Sunnah of the Messenger (pbuh), as it is proven
that he said that, did it and enjoined it.

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) stoned Maa’iz, the Juhani woman, the Ghaamidi
woman, and the two Jews. All of that is proven in saheeh ahaadeeth narrated
from the Prophet (pbuh).

Al-Bukhaari and Muslim narrated in
their Saheehs from Ibn ‘Abbaas (RA) that ‘Umar (RA) said: “Allah sent Muhammad (pbuh) with the truth and revealed to him the Book, and one of the
things that Allah revealed was the verse of stoning. We have read it and
understood it. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) stoned (adulterers) and we stoned (them) after him, but I fear that there
may come a time when some people say: ‘By Allah, we do not find the verse of
stoning in the Book of Allah.’ So they will go astray by forsaking an
obligation that Allah has revealed.

According to the Book of Allah,
stoning is deserved by the one who commits zina, if he is married, men and
women alike, if proof is established or the woman becomes pregnant or they
confess…”

Based
on this, it is not permissible to replace stoning with killing by the sword or
shooting, because stoning is a more severe punishment and a more effective
deterrent to the sin of zina, which is the most grave sin after shirk and
killing a soul whom Allah has forbidden us to kill. The hadd punishment of
stoning for a married person who commits zina is one of the matters that is
determined by the Qur’aan and Sunnah and there is no room for ijtihaad or personal
opinion. If killing by the sword or shooting were permissible in the case of
the married adulterer then the Prophet (pbuh) would have done that and would have explained it to his ummah, and his
companions after him would have done that too.

"The woman and the man guilty of illegal sexual intercourse, flog
each of them with a hundred stripes. Let not pity withhold you in their case,
in a punishment prescribed by Allâh, if you believe in Allâh and the Last Day.
And let a party of the believers witness their punishment. (This punishment is
for unmarried persons guilty of the above crime but if married persons commit
it, the punishment is to stone them to death, according to Allâh's Law)." (Quran 24:2)

And those who annoy believing men and women undeservedly, bear (on themselves) a calumny and a glaring sin. Quran33:59

Adultry can also be an affair of the heart with nothing physical. The internet has opened up many ways to fall into this sin.

At times the affair of the heart can be much more hurtful. Love is involved instead of just a physical desire.

I live where a group of neighbors of opposite sex can hug each other as friends, congratulating, consuling, without any raised eyebrows because the thought of sex with the person is not there. Just brotherly love.

John 3
16"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

I live where a group of neighbors of opposite sex can hug each other as friends, congratulating, consuling, without any raised eyebrows because the thought of sex with the person is not there. Just brotherly love.

I'll take you at your word with respect to your own thoughts, but how can you be certain about the thoughts and inner feelings of others? You may hug your neighbor's wife while congratulating, consoling or in a friendly gesture without sexual tension, however her true sentiments are unknown, that is, not know to you.

That could be true of two men or women as well. You don't know their orientation and these days they could be as interested in the opposite gender as the same. Nothing is more embarrassing than when you find out your long time friend has no interest in the opposite sex and you can't know if all your innocent hugs were just that or if they were thinking of something else. I try to avoid hugging anyone that isn't a family member these days.

‘Allah has written for Adam’s son (mankind) his share of zina (adultery
and fornication), which he commits inevitably. The zina of the eyes is
the sight (to gaze at a forbidden thing), the zina of the tongue is the
talk, and the inner-self wishes and desires and the private parts testify all
this or deny.’

These are forbidden because they eventually might lead to sexual intercourse,
and they are forbidden as a preventive issue, because these actions may lead him to
commit true zina. Bear in mind that Shaytan is always watching us, ready to jump on every opportunity presented to him, for him to influence humans and lead them to sinful act. The Prophet said, when a man and a woman were talking in private, their third party is Shaytan....Shaytan can whisper in our hearts to entice us to do bad deeds by presenting less obvious sin, Shaytan always attacks in the most insignificant aspects in our affairs.

Allah (swt) in the Nobel Qur’an said:

Nor come near to adultery: for it is a shameful (deed) and an
evil, opening the road (to other evils). (Quran 17:32)

And those who annoy believing men and women undeservedly, bear (on themselves) a calumny and a glaring sin. Quran33:59

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